


The Return of the Boy Who Lived

by red_jacobson



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Boy-Who-Lived Neville Longbottom, Dimension Travel Neville, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25356409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_jacobson/pseuds/red_jacobson
Summary: Summary: After the final battle, the Boy Who Lived is transported back into his 11 year old body, just prior to receiving his Hogwarts Letter. Sound like every re-do fic you've ever read? It is, except for one minor detail; the Boy Who Lived is named Neville Longbottom!
Relationships: Harry Potter/Hermione Granger
Comments: 5
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another one of my older Harry Potter stories. This one is complete as posted. Hope you enjoy

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 1/?  
Rating: Teen/PG-13

Summary: After the final battle, the Boy Who Lived is transported back into his 11 year old body, just prior to receiving his Hogwarts Letter. Sound like every re-do fic you've ever read? It is, except for one minor detail; the Boy Who Lived is named Neville Longbottom!

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I don't own any of the Harry Potter Characters or settings.

Pairings: None to start, come on; they're 11 years old! 

Authors Note: This is another plot bunny that has been biting on my toes, and hopefully I can get it out of the way and get moving on my other stories.

Feedback: Of course, it helps me write faster.

Chapter One

Hogwarts, July 28th 1998

The castle was in ruins; the lawn covered in the bodies of both the attackers and the students and professors who had remained behind to face Voldemort's assault. Neville blinked away the blood that had dripped into his eyes, trying not to look at the bodies of his friends lying around him.

“At least Ron got Greyback before he died, maybe now Bill can rest easily, Remus too.” He thought, before blocking another spell from Voldemort. “Come on, Tommy; you can do better than that!” He taunted, casting another chain of curses at the bane of his existence. He almost smiled as he saw Riddle's shield finally shatter under the force of the multiple reductor curses that Hermione and Professor Flitwick had taught him to combine into a single spell. While Voldemort was staggered and trying futilely to close the hole in his stomach, Neville pulled the Sword of Gryffindor and moved forward, preparing to remove the head of his enemy.

Before he could reach Voldemort; the dying Dark Lord dropped to his knees; and looked up at his approaching doom. “So, you think you've beaten me, do you?” Voldemort hissed, “Maybe you have, but I'll be back, and you won't be here to see it. You see, when to kill this form, my final spell will go off, and you will join me in death! Of course, I've beaten death before, and I'll do so again! Can you say the same?” Riddle taunted him.

Neville chuckled bitterly, raising the sword for the killing stroke. “Two problems with that idea, Tommy boy, first, if you were counting on your 6 horcruxes to keep you alive, they've all been destroyed already, and, secondly, look around you, do you think I honestly give a damn about living anymore?You and your foolish followers have already killed every person I've ever loved, and I'll be happy to see them again.”

Voldemort's eyes widened as the fact that he had finally lost sunk into his brain. He took a breath, trying to plead for mercy, when the sword cut through his neck and his head fell in the grass, followed quickly by his body.

Neville dropped the sword, and knelt down beside the body, closing his eyes as the tears he had been holding back finally fell, allowing himself to remember those he had lost. He could feel the magical buildup from Voldemort's final spell, and smiled, “I'm coming for you Ginny! Mom, Dad, I'll see you soon.”

And just as the world exploded around him, he thought he heard a far off cry of Phoenix Song; and the world went black.

July 28th 1991

Longbottom Manor

“Master Neville! Master Neville! Youse need to be getting up now; Milly has breakfast ready, and your Grammy sent me to get you! Hurry! Hurry! Youse don't want yours breakfast to get cold, now does youse?”

“I'm up, I'm up!” Neville groaned, opening his eyes and looking at the family house elf. 'Wait a minute! I'm alive? What the hell is going here?' He wondered, as he saw Dilly, his elf, who he last saw as a burned corpse beside his Grandmother's body at the end of his Sixth year at Hogwarts.

'Okay, so I'm back at home, and apparently not quite 11 years old, because Gran stopped calling me down to breakfast after I got my letter. First things first, need to get myself ready for breakfast, otherwise it would get cold, and I'm actually hungry! After that I can figure out what is going on here.'

With that, he quickly cleaned himself up and got dressed, noting with disgust that he really needed to do something to lose the baby fat, and made his way downstairs to have breakfast with his Gran.

Augusta Longbottom looked just the same as she had the last time he saw her alive, and Neville was very thankful for the Occulmency training that he had received. It was the only thing that allowed him to keep his face impassive and maintain a polite conversation over breakfast, when what he really wanted to do was rush to his Grandmother and wrap his arms around her and start crying in relief at seeing her again.

He managed to get through breakfast without incident; and, after finishing, excused himself to go work in the greenhouses. After closing and locking the door to his personal work area behind him, he wandlessly cast a silencing and privacy charm, and dropped to the floor, sobbing hysterically. Neville had no idea how long he had laid there, but, eventually the tears dried, and he heard a sound he didn't think he would ever hear again, that of Phoenix song. Looking up; he saw Fawkes perched on his work table, singing softly. Neville smiled weakly at the Headmaster's companion; who he had last seen at his mentor's memorial service. “Hullo, Fawkes, its good to see you. What brings you here?”

The Phoenix held out his leg, and Neville saw an envelope wrapped around it. Taking the letter, he recognized Headmaster Dumbledore's handwriting; and hurried to open it. Reading the first line, his hands started shaking; and it was only Fawkes' singing that kept him from collapsing to the floor again.

December 25th 1996;  
the letter began;

My dear Neville;

If you are reading this, than I have already departed on my Next Great Adventure; and was not at your side when you had your final confrontation with Tom. All I can say is I'm sorry I wasn't there for you at the end, as I had intended to be. However, Severus tells me that the curse on the Gaunt ring has damaged my body and magic too severely to be corrected, and, whether I wish it or not, I will be gone before the school year ends. Ijust hope it's peaceful, I find as I face my end, that the idea of apainful death disturbing.

Well, enough of an old man's rambling. If you are receiving this in the circumstances I believe you will, you are a young man again; with your future before you. One of the great regrets of my life, and I can only gather the courage to tell you this now; is that you were forced to grow up so soon, consider this a second chance to enjoy your life. Fawkes agreed to assist me in granting you this gift, he actually is quite fond of you, my boy.

Anyway; I realized that Tom would not be willing to go on alone, and would use any means to take you with him. I asked Fawkes to watch over you; and, if it was as Isuspected, to take you out of danger. What I didn't realize; at the time; was just how magical a Phoenix really is, being eternal, Fawkes actually is timeless, meaning that all times are the same to him. I'll admit to being almost giddy with excitement when I realized Fawkes could travel through time to any point he desired. I saw achance to correct all the mistakes I made, from preventing Tom from traveling his dark path, to avoiding Tom's spy from hearing part of the prophecy; to stopping myself from putting on the cursed ring. Alas, the excitement faded quickly when Fawkes made me understand that such travel is a one way trip; because, a Phoenix can only transport a person who is dieing, or just dead, because the flames of the trip would kill anyone else. So I couldn't take the chance of failing at my mission; and leaving you to face Tom and his Death Eaters without my guidance and support. Once I understood this; Iasked him to give you this final gift, to take you back to your younger self, and hopefully you can enjoy your childhood, while still preparing for what must be done.

I'll have to end this, because you are knocking on the door to my office, and we have several more memories to go through.

Albus

End Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 2/?

Rating: Teen/PG-13

Summary: After the final battle, the Boy Who Lived is transported back into his 11 year old body, just prior to receiving his Hogwarts Letter. Sound like every re-do fic you've ever read? It is, except for one minor detail; the Boy Who Lived is named Neville Longbottom!

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I don't own any of the Harry Potter Characters or settings.

Pairings: None to start, come on; they're 11 years old! 

Authors Note: This is another plot bunny that has been biting on my toes, and hopefully I can get it out of the way and get moving on my other stories.

Feedback: Of course, it helps me write faster.

Chapter Two

Immediately After the Last Chapter

Folding up the letter, Neville carefully burned it; and mixed the ashes in with the soil he was using for planting. “Wouldn't want anybody else reading that, would we Fawkes?” Not getting a response, he turned and saw that the Phoenix had left already. “Guess you wanted to get back home, can't say as I blame you.”

Pulling out the pots and seedlings he was going to be working with; he started working, the tasks coming to him automatically; as his hands did their magic, the way they had so many times in the past, when it seemed that the Greenhouses offered the only respite from the chaos that was his life. Of course, he also smiled at the memory of times he and Ginny had spent in a back corner of Greenhouse Three. The smile faded as he remembered the last time he had seen her, lying dead with her hands around Lucius Malfoy's throat.

Shaking himself, Neville snarled to himself; “That's not going to happen this time! If I have to kill him myself, Nobody is going to be possessed by that Diary!” Pausing, he said; “Okay; I've been given this chance to change things, I'm not going to muck it up! Now, what do I need to do first? Damn it; I wish Hermione were here, she was always better at planning things.” He chuckled, “Okay; if she were here right now, she'd think I was some kind of lunatic kidnapper, since she hasn't even started Hogwarts yet. So, no Hermione for right now, I'll have to muddle through on my own. First thing I need to do is figure out what I'm going to change.”

Finishing up his planting; Neville straightened up his work area and went to wash up. As he was cleaning; he happened to glance at his face in the mirror and froze. Taking another look, he raised a trembling hand to his forehead. The scar was gone! The jagged lighting bolt that he had worn since that horrible night when he lost his parents had disappeared, he couldn't see where it had ever been there.

“Okay; I know that scar was there my first time through, so either I need to see an Eye Healer, or something is drastically different here.”

Putting it aside, as something to think about later, Neville finished his cleaning and went back up to the house. His Gran was out, Dilly told him, and would be back later that afternoon. Glad he had the house to himself, he went up to the library and quickly found the book he was looking for, “A Twentieth Century History of the Dark Arts”. Paging toward the back of the book, he found the section on Voldemort's first rise, and everything seemed to be the same, until he came to October 31st, 1981.

'Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived? Oh, that poor bastard! Well, that explains where my scar went to, anyway. I wonder how much this changed him, growing up without his parents; he was a good friend before, I hope we can be friends this time around, he's going to need help, even if he doesn't realize it. I just have to make sure he doesn't get a big head, the way I did when I started at Hogwarts. It would have made things a lot easier if I had let Harry and Hermione help me out going against Quirrell, at least I got my head out of my arse after that!'

Pulling out some parchment; and casting privacy charms, 'this will be much easier when I finally get a wand,'he mused, Neville started writing down the key events that need to be changed to keep Voldemort from returning to life, or, failing that, to keep him from gaining power the way he had the last time.

It was several hours later when he finally finished, having barely taken the time to eat dinner. Augusta noticed that her grandson seemed distracted, but chocked it up to excitement about his birthday and worry about receiving his Hogwarts letter. Little did she know that his birthday was the furthest thing from Neville's mind.

Neville's birthday brought, as it always did, visits and gifts from his Aunts and Uncles, as well as cards from people his Grandmother knew. It wasn't till after cake had been served, that a majestic owl swooped down and left Neville with his Hogwarts letter.

After all the guests had left, Neville discovered another thing that had changed in this world, when his Grandmother took him to St Mungo's to visit his parents. It took everything he had not to totally lose control at seeing his parents for the first time in 10 years, they had been killed the same night he got his scar. It was only by forcing his anguish down to the depths of his being that he was able to get through the agonizing visit. From what little he could find out by listening to the conversations around him; his parents had suffered long term effects from being tortured by Death Eaters right after Voldemort fell. He made a note of the names mentioned when the Healers thought he wasn't listening; and made plans for revenge on the LeStrange family as well as Crouch Jr; assuming he still taught during his 4thyear.

The rest of the Summer was extremely busy getting everything ready for school, the only point of contention between Neville and his Grandmother was that she wanted him to use his father's wand, while Neville was insistent on getting one that was suited specifically for him. He told her that he knew she wanted him to honor his father by using the wand, but said that he could honor him better by being the best Wizard he could possibly be, and that meant using a wand that was suited to him. It took some doing, but eventually she agreed, and they made a trip to Ollivanders.

At one point during their day in Diagon Alley; Neville saw Hagrid escorting a small, badly dressed boy who could only be Harry Potter, they were going into Flourish and Blots Bookstore, so Neville made an excuse to his Gran and headed over to meet his friend for the first time.

As soon as Neville got close enough, he saw the scar on Harry's forehead and winced, knowing the pain that scar could bring. Schooling his face in a friendly grin; he walked over to him and said; “Hi; are you starting Hogwarts this year too?”

“Yeah! I can't wait; from what Hagrid told me, it's gonna be brilliant!”

“I know, I'm looking forward to it, too! Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Neville Longbottom; and you are?” Neville asked, sticking out his hand,

“Oh! I'm Harry, Harry Potter”

“Potter? Are you related to James and Lily Potter, by chance?”

Harry looked shocked at the reaction, Neville could tell he was already dealing with the whole Boy Who Lived treatment; at least it seemed he was doing better with it than Neville had done at 11 years old.

“I've been told that my parents names were James and Lily, but, I really don't remember them.” Harry said, quietly.

Neville put a stricken look on his face, “Oh! Oh Merlin! I'm so sorry, I didn't think, I just asked, because my Gran told me that some of my parents closest friends were James and Lily Potter. I lost my parents just a few days after you lost yours, and for the same reason. I've been living with my Gran ever since, how about you?”

“I stay with my mum's sister and her husband, but they don't seem to like me very much.” Harry's eyes widened, it was obvious he hadn't meant to say anything about it, but it slipped out.

Neville hid his shock as well as he could, but, it was obvious that this Harry was far from the mischievous boy who he met on the Hogwarts express, and was his staunchest friend all through Hogwarts. This boy was clearly lost and out of his element in the Wizarding World, but he was doing his best to learn what he needed to know.

“So I guess, based on what you are telling me, that your relatives aren't magical?”

Harry shook his head, sadly. “No, not at all, in fact, when Hagrid came to get me, Uncle Vernon called him a freak, and said something about Hogwarts being a freak school.”

“Damn!” Neville muttered, and almost grinned at the shocked look on Harry's face. “It's obvious that your relatives didn't teach you what you are going to need to know about the Wizarding World before you get to Hogwarts.” Leading him over to a shelf of books toward the back of the store, Neville grabbed several books that would explain things to aMuggleborn Wizard or Witch; but probably weren't on Harry's list.

“Those should give you enough information to get you by for the first couple of years. If you want, once we get on the Hogwarts Express, I'll be happy to answer any questions I can. That reminds me; do you know how to get on the Express?”

Quickly explaining; Neville told Harry that he had to go meet his grandmother; but would be looking forward to seeing him again on September 1st. Harry was smiling happily as he watched Neville leave, realizing he had made a friend that Dudley couldn't take away from him. The smile lasted the rest of the day, and he was up most of the evening going over the books that Neville had gotten for him.

For his part, Neville was relieved that Harry wasn't the big-headed prat he had been at 11 years old, and was glad to have made a friend.

End Chapter 2

Next Chapter; The Hogwarts Express, Hermione and Malfoy, Oh My! GRIN


	3. Chapter 3

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 3/?  
Rating: Teen/PG-13

Chapter 3

September 1st; Kings Cross Station

Neville made sure he was at the station early on September 1st, he wanted to make sure that Harry was able to find the gate okay. He was glad he did; because he had only been waiting about 20 minutes when he spotted Hermione Granger, already in her robes, with two people who had to be her parents. Neville never had a chance to meet the Grangers in the previous timeline because they were killed in his 6th year. Putting his book down, he walked over to them, and said, “Hogwarts?”

Hermione's eyes lit up and she nodded, while her parents looked faintly relieved to see it really wasn't some elaborate practical joke. “I'm Neville Longbottom; and I'm just waiting for a friend to get here so we can board together, you can wait with me if you like?”

“Oh, that would be wonderful, Neville! It's going to be ever so exciting; and I'm happy to have somebody to talk to that would understand! I'm Hermione Granger, and these are my parents, Nick and Eliza Granger, they're dentists.”

Neville was mildly amused that she was able to get all of that out without taking a breath, and, turning to the Grangers, he greeted them politely. They all joined Neville where he had been sitting; and of course Hermione noticed the book he was reading, “A Guide to Wizarding Society? I haven't read that one! Can I see it please?”

“Of course,” Neville said, politely; “I was just going over it to refresh my memory, I'm sure that my friend is going to have a lot of questions when he gets here.”

“Is your friend Muggleborn like me? I have to admit; there are a lot of things I didn't really understand in my reading.”

“I can understand that, unfortunately; most of the books you would read for school assume you have enough background information to understand the material. It seems like they don't want to admit that there are getting to be more and more Muggleborn every year. And, no, Harry isn't a muggleborn; but he was raised by his relatives who are muggles. I met him in Diagon Alley and had him get a few books to give him the information he would need. In fact, if you ask him nicely, he may let you borrow them.”

“Excuse me, Neville, but, I'm concerned about something you said;” Hermione's father said;“You mentioned that people don't like to admit there are more and more Muggleborns, are you saying that Hermione will have a problem because she doesn't come from a family of wizards?”

Neville sighed; “That's a tough question, Mister Granger, and all I can say is; there are bigots no matter where you go in life. However, a lot of the prejudice Muggleborn's encounter is simply due to the fact that they come into our world fairly ignorant of our customs, and, unfortunately; very few take the time to learn how things are done. Those that are intelligent enough to realize they have a lot to learn, and take the time to do so; like Hermione has done; will have a much easier time fitting in. In fact, that's one of the reasons I came over to greet you; besides the fact that I'm always looking to make a new friend,” he finished with an ingratiating smile.

Slightly mollified, Nick nodded, and, turning to his daughter said, “We have to get back to the office, Hermione; but send us a letter when you get there, okay? Neville, it was a pleasure meeting you; and I appreciate you explaining things to us.”

“It was my pleasure sir, by the way, did you get the instructions on how you can send letters to Hogwarts if you don't have an owl? Judging by the expression on your faces, I'd guess not. Okay, there is a mail box address in Edinburgh that you can address letters to, and they get forwarded to us at the school.” Giving them the post office address, the Grangers hugged Hermione and left the station. Hermione opened the book as soon as her parents were out of sight, and started reading while Neville watched out for Harry.

He didn't have much longer to wait, as he spotted Harry pushing a cart, while three of the ugliest human beings he ever saw stood there watching him, with an air of smelling something unpleasant on their faces. Neville got to his feet and went over to greet his friend; and help him with his cart. The relatives never said anything to Harry that Neville could hear, but, when he looked up; they had already left.

“Good to see you, Mate!” Neville said, “I've been waiting for you, and managed to make another friend. Hermione? This is my friend Harry, he's the one who has the books you are interested in.”

It didn't take long before the three of them were talking like old friends; and soon they found themselves in the last compartment of the train. They weren't there for more than a few minutes when the door slid open and a red headed boy looked in. And that was how they met Ron Weasley.

After getting snacks from the cart, and teaching Harry and Hermione the rules to Exploding Snap, it was time for the irritating part of the journey; as Malfoy and his goons shoved the door open and were their usual charming selves. Neville did his best to keep his temper, wanting to see how his new friends handled themselves. When Malfoy did his patented 'Some Families are better than others' shtick, Harry actually smirked at the ponce; saying “Oh, you mean like my friend Neville, whose family, the Longbottom's have had seats on the Wizengamot for 1100 years, which, if memory serves me; is about 600 years longer than the Malfoys, is that what you mean about some families being better than others? Or are you talking about your money? I've heard how generous your father is, it's funny how his generosity came at the same time he was cleared of being a Death Eater, isn't it? Is that what you meant? In case you haven't noticed, “Bad Faith”; yes, I've done some studying on Wizarding history; don't look so surprised, I have already decided who my friends are, and don't need a smug little ferret like you to come in here and insult my friends. Now, you can leave!” Harry said, shooing them out of the compartment. Neville waited until the door slammed shut behind the three of them before bursting into laughter.

“Oh, Harry mate! That was beautiful! I've wanted to put that prat in his place since I first had the 'pleasure' of meeting him; but you did it so much better than I ever could. Thank you!”

Ron had kept quiet during the confrontation; but was looking at Harry with something like awe on his face, and Hermione was enthralled by the way he had used the information in the books to totally destroy a bully.

Neville saw the look on Hermione's face and smirked to himself. 'Well, some things stay the same; ever if the details are different.' he mused, 'The two of them got close on the ride to Hogwarts the last time, too.'

A few more games of cards, and it was time for the rest of them to put their robes on; and get ready to arrive at Hogsmeade Station.

The boat ride was fairly uneventful, although Draco managed to fall into the water while trying to show off, and soon enough Harry, Ron and Hermione got their first look at Hogwarts Castle. Even though Neville had seen it before, it was still a breathtaking scene, and he gasped along with his friends.

Soon enough and they were lined up inside the castle, waiting to be sorted, and Neville mentioned quietly to his friends that; if you thought really hard about what house you want to be in; you have a good chance of being put there. The other three agreed to try and be in the same house, and Hermione said that she was going to try to be in Gryffindor; because she had read that was Professor Dumbledore's house when he was in school. The others agreed, because their parents were in Gryffindor as well.

** Insert Your Favorite Sorting Hat Song Here***

The sorting went as it always does, and even though the Hat paused when deciding where to place Neville, he soon joined Hermione at the Gryffindor Table, as did Harry and Ron when their turns came.

After all of them were seated, Neville glanced up at the Head Table, and did a double take. 'Wait a minute, where's Slughorn? And who's the greasy bat? At least Quirrellmort is here, and he's got the turban on, so at least that hasn't changed. The grease ball must be the replacement Potions Professor, wonder if he's as good as Sluggy was?'

Hearing a quiet groan from Harry; he looked over and saw him rubbing his scar. 'Oh bugger! He must have the same connection to Quirrellmort that I did! I've got to get him studying Occulmency; so he can block the bugger out.' Putting his hand on Harry's shoulder, he pulled Harry's attention away from the Head Table, and Quirrell's malevolent gaze. “You alright, mate?”

“Yeah, just a headache, I guess I'm more tired than I thought, it's been a long day.”

“That's for sure! Well, I'm sure they will be taking us up to the tower pretty soon, so you can kip out if you want.”

“If my head still hurts when we finish, I will, but I really do want to get some more reading done before we start classes.”

“Are you sure you aren't supposed to be in Ravenclaw?” Neville teased.

The four of them laughed and started eating. The pain on Harry's face eased considerably as time went on, and soon was joking and laughing with the rest of his friends. Neville didn't say anything more, but was more determined than ever to help his friend keep Voldemort out of his head.

End Chapter Three


	4. Chapter 4

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 4/?

Rating: Teen/PG-13

Summary: After the final battle, the Boy Who Lived is transported back into his 11 year old body, just prior to receiving his Hogwarts Letter. Sound like every re-do fic you've ever read? It is, except for one minor detail; the Boy Who Lived is named Neville Longbottom!

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I don't own any of the Harry Potter Characters or settings.

Pairings: None to start, come on; they're 11 years old! 

Credit Where Credit is Due Department: Readers will notice a couple of things in this chapter that look familiar, and, I have to say, I was inspired by Viridian's massive re-do story; Nightmares of Future Past; it's available on Fanficauthors.net; go read it if you haven't already!

Feedback: Of course, it helps me write faster.

Chapter 4

After The Feast

After the traditional announcements, Dumbledore had the prefects lead the new students to their houses, and the Gryffindor's found themselves following along behind Percy Weasley, who was, Neville noted, just as mind blowingly pompous as he was the first time around. The four of them soon found a place for themselves in the Common Room, and; although Ron tried to get one of them to play chess with him; the other three were busy reading and chatting amongst themselves. Eventually they started talking to the other members of their class, although Hermione appeared uncomfortable with the gossipy natures of the other two first year Gryffindor girls, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, while Harry and Neville got along fine with Dean Thomas, who like Harry and Hermione was raised in a Muggle environment. The other new Gryffindor was being beaten quite badly at chess by Ron Weasley, so they didn't have much to say to him.

The three of them agreed to meet for breakfast early the next morning; Ron declined, wanting to have a bit of a lie in the first morning, so they went up to get some sleep. Neville made sure he took the bed next to Harry in case something happened during the night. He remembered the nightmares well, and wanted to be able to help his friend if he could.

Sure enough, Neville hadn't been to sleep very long when he heard the pained cry from Harry's bed. Climbing out of bed, he put his hand on Harry's shoulder and Harry woke up sharply. “Are you okay, Harry? That sounded like anasty dream!” Neville asked quietly.

“Yeah, I'm okay now, but, that was bad, I kept seeing these snakes watching me, and saying how Ineeded to be in Slytherin, that I had to go and get re-sorted, Ididn't belong here. Which makes no sense, the only Slytherin's I've met are Bad Faith and his bookends, and I certainly don't belong with them! Besides, all my friends are in Gryffindor; so why should Iwant to change?”

“Hell if I know, besides, you belong here, you know that as well as I do. But, I have to ask, do you have nightmares like that often? With snakes and things like that?”

“Yeah, sometimes, why?”

“We'll talk about it more in the morning; but, you probably aren't aware of this, but Voldemort; his symbol was a serpent, and if he's still alive in some form, those dreams might be coming from him. Now, I know it's tough, but try to get some sleep, I have an idea that I'll tell you about in the morning”

Tough or not, Neville heard Harry softly snoring within a few minutes, and quickly calmed his mind enough to fall asleep himself.

The Next Morning

The three of them were the first ones down to breakfast, and as soon as they were seated, breakfast appeared in front of them. After Harry and Hermione had finished, Neville pulled out two copies of a battered old book from his book bag. “This book is about a mental discipline called Occulmency; Harry; it helps shield your mind from outside influences, and, as a benefit, helps you organize your thoughts better, so you can remember more information; and more easily. It's not easy, but it's very useful, and, honestly, makes the nightmares easier to deal with. I know from experience.” At their looks, he said, “I'll tell you about my parents another time, we don't have enough time right now.” Taking a deep breath; he released it, and turned to Hermione; “I made you a copy of the book, simply because Ican't imagine you not wanting to learn something new, even though Ijust met you yesterday.” She grinned in agreement, reaching for the book. “Now, while we are on the topic of learning something new, I've read that other muggleborn have had a problem at the beginning of school because they kept trying to answer all the professors questions, which didn't impress the professors, and, at the same time, caused resentment among their classmates. This is one of those things I was talking about yesterday, not knowing our customs, if the professor wants you to answer, he or she will call on you; because it's their job to see how everybody in the class is progressing; do you follow me?”

“I think so, but, what about participation grades? That was a big part of our final grades in school.”

“Your participation grade is how well you complete the assignment in the class; and; yes, it's a big part of your final grades here as well. Now, sometimes the professors will throw a question out to the whole class, in that case, it's okay to raise your hand and answer it if the professor calls on you. Now, speaking of classes, I see Professor McGonagall coming our way with our schedules, so we can see who we have the pleasure of spending time with this morning.”

The rest of the day went fairly smoothly, having Charms with Ravenclaw house, where Hermione managed to strike up a conversation with Parvati's sister Padma, and then atrip out to the Greenhouses for Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. It was in Herbology that Harry and Hermione found out just what having a'green thumb' really meant, as Neville seemed to have an almost preternatural affinity for the plants they were working on, and Professor Sprout came over and complimented him on his work, gaining Gryffindor 10 points for the class. Needless to say, this raised Neville's popularity with his house mates a good deal. Of course, Neville just accepted it with a smile, and didn't make a big deal out of it.

It was a good thing that Neville had gained them the 10 points, because Ron and Seamus managed to lose 5 points in the same class for fooling around when they should have been working.

At dinner that night, Ron and Seamus were not very popular with their House mates, and Ron got even more grief from his brothers; not only from Percy the Prefect, which was expected, but from Fred and George, who were angry at him for getting caught, not for goofing around. They seemed to feel that he did damage to their reputation, and were not happy about it.

Ron went to Neville and the others, expecting them to sympathize but was disappointed, especially when Harry told him that fooling around was fine, outside of class, but in class they needed to pay attention, because the classes were only going to get harder, and more complicated. Needless to say, Ron wasn't very happy with anybody that night, and stomped off to bed and sulked.

Before heading up to bed, Neville said;“I don't know if it was something that you had to do in school, but, I'm going to start exercising in the morning; I'm tired of this flab on my body. You two are welcome to join me if you like.”

Hermione looked a bit skeptical about exercise, but when Neville explained that a stronger, healthier body meant a stronger, healthier magical core, and made for more powerful and skilled wizards and witches, she was convinced, and she and Harry agreed to meet even earlier the next morning to exercise before breakfast.

The Next Morning

It was three very tired 11 year olds who staggered down to breakfast after they got done exercising and cleaning up; but, Neville promised them it would get easier, so Harry and Hermione decided not to kill him yet. Although they were sore, the three of them noticed that they did feel better as the day went on, and even felt a bit more alert than usual in class. It turns out this was a very good thing, because the first class of the morning was Potions with Professor Snape and the Slytherins.

End Chapter 4

(ain't I a stinker! GRIN)


	5. Chapter 5

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 5/?

Rating: Teen/PG-13

Summary: After the final battle, the Boy Who Lived is transported back into his 11 year old body, just prior to receiving his Hogwarts Letter. Sound like every re-do fic you've ever read? It is, except for one minor detail; the Boy Who Lived is named Neville Longbottom!

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I don't own any of the Harry Potter Characters or settings.

Pairings: None to start, come on; they're 11 years old! 

Credit Where Credit is Due Department: A section of this chapter is going to look familiar, or, rather, the idea of requesting a review of punishment will look familiar, because I saw something similar done in another story, unfortunately I don't recall where. I've done something different with it, so just accept that I was inspired by the other writer.

Feedback: Of course, it helps me write faster.

Potions Class

For the first time since the Sorting; Neville was honestly curious about what would happen next. He had heard complaints from the other Gryffindors about how bad a teacher Snape was, but, had no personal memories of the man. He had no concerns about being able to do the work, Slughorn may have been asocial climbing leech, but he knew his potions, and, more importantly, knew how to teach.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Snape to live down to his reputation. After starting the class with a ridiculous boast about bottling fame and brewing glory, and at the same time, insulting the entire class, he started in on Harry. Fortunately Harry kept his calm and answered the questions correctly, which seemed to disappoint Snape. Neville was pleased that Hermione had taken his words to heart and kept from raising her hand at every question. It was while he was being pleased that his friends had done so well, and he started brewing the potion that was on the blackboard, that the troubles started.

Unfortunately he was paired with Ron, because Harry and Hermione had already started sitting together, and Ron, while a nice enough guy, and excellent at Chess and talking about Quidditch, was absolute pants at preparing ingredients for brewing. So, Neville was preparing the ingredients; and trying to explain, as quietly as possible, why you slice some ingredients; and chop others. Unfortunately; he was paying more attention to what he was doing, and less to his surroundings, and was just starting to put the first ingredient in the cauldron when Snape sneered from behind him “And what do you think you are doing Longbottom? Do you fancy yourself a Potions Master?”

Mentally cursing himself for letting anybody sneak up on him, Neville answered as politely as possible,“I'm preparing the potion on the blackboard, Professor, why? Am I doing it wrong?”

“What you are doing wrong is disrupting my class, and your fellow students, by your constant nonsensical chatter! That will be 10 points from Gryffindor! Now, stop talking and get back to work!”

Unfortunately for both Snape, and Neville, the greasy bat wasn't dealing with a typical easily cowed first year, and Neville had little patience for bullies, especially when they were incompetent. Before he could stop himself, Neville blurted “Nonsensical Chatter? I was simply explaining how to prepare the ingredients so the potion would be properly made. How is that nonsensical? And, if you had actually taught the class how to prepare the ingredients, the way a Professor is supposed to teach, Iwouldn't have had to do your job and could have concentrated on the assignment”

The rest of the class was absolutely silent, including the Slytherins, some of whom were snickering as their Head of House tore into the Gryffindor but weren't prepared for the way the Gryffie defended himself.

Neville, even while he was cursing his temper, was mildly amused at how many different colors Snape could achieve in such a short period of time. Eventually the bat settled on a very unflattering shade of crimson; and growled out “That will be an additional 100 points for insulting a Professor, Longbottom and you will spend the next month with me in detention. Now, if you don't want to lose any more points, and spend the rest of the term with me, I'd suggest you hold your tongue and finish preparing your potion.”

Finally getting his temper under control; Neville nodded and went back to his potion, ignoring the glares he was receiving from his house mates, and the concerned looks he got from Harry and Hermione. The rest of the class passed without incident, and eventually they were dismissed.

Once outside the classroom, the Gryffindors, except for Harry and Hermione, rounded on Neville, yelling at him for losing so many points, until he held up his hands and quieted them down. “Don't worry about the points, they were completely unreasonable, and won't stand. Watch this!”

Following him, Neville led the Gryffindors out of the dungeon and into the Entry Hall. Stopping at a portrait of Godric Gryffindor; Neville said, “Gryffindor student requesting review of punishment.” A pleasant female voice came from the portrait, “Nature of punishment?” and a silvery area appeared at the bottom of the portrait. Neville took his wand and pulled a silver strand from his temple and placed it in the portrait. The silver area disappeared, and the voice stated, “Memory received, point removal and detention are suspended until final review.”

Turning to his classmates, Neville wasn't surprised to see an almost ecstatic look on Hermione's face, an amused expression from Harry, and shock on the rest of the class, broken by Ron Weasley's “Wicked! But why didn't you tell us about this the other day? I could have gotten rid of those points Professor Sprout took.”

“Sorry Ron, it doesn't work that way. Those were legitimate points she took, and, if you had tried to get them reviewed, and they were ruled as valid, you would have lost twice as many.”

“If you get a ridiculous amount of points taken, or legitimately feel that the punishment wasn't right, you can find an portrait of one of the founders and request areview. But, you have to be careful and make sure that you didn't deserve to have the points taken, because the penalty is severe for submitting a review that is rejected. Now, we have Flying next, and I don't want to be late.”

The first flying lesson was fairly uneventful, except for Malfoy trying to show off and falling from his broom. Neville wasn't surprised to see that Harry was a natural on a broom, because the other Harry he knew was an amazing flier as well. Hermione was a pleasant surprise, she had never been a very strong flier in the past, but now, while not as comfortable as he or Harry were, she did seem to enjoy the flight.

They had lunch right after the Flying lesson and hurried in to eat. Neville wasn't surprised to see that the Gryffindor Points Counter was right where it should be, and that Snape was glaring at him with a look that practically defined loathing. Sitting down to eat, he was interrupted by Hermione; who said “Where did you learn that about the portraits? It wasn't in any of the books I'd read, it wasn't even in 'Hogwarts, AHistory'!”

“I found it in a Journal one of my great grandfathers had left in the family library. It's not exactly a secret, but not a lot of people know about it, and, for obvious reasons, the Headmaster and staff don't advertise it.”

Harry laughed, “And you said Ishould have been in Ravenclaw? What did you do, spend all day, every day for the last few years reading every book you could find, just so you could come up with surprises like this?”

“Nah, not even close, but, I do read really fast, and the family library has some really interesting charms that allow you to find a book that has exactly the information you may be looking for. Unfortunately; Hermione; I haven't been able to figure out the charm, so I can't teach it you.”

He laughed at Hermione's cute pout, when she realized that there was something she wouldn't be able to learn yet. Of course, his laughing set Harry off, and eventually Hermione started laughing as well.

It was while they were laughing that Neville noticed Professor McGonagall walking towards them. “Yes Professor? How can I help you?”

“Mister Longbottom; the Headmaster would like to see you in his office as soon as you are finished eating.”

Neville set his napkin down, “Well, I'm finished now, so, would you mind showing me how to get there?” Tossing a wink at his friends, Neville stood and followed his head of house out of the Great Hall.

'Okay, Neville, remember, this isn't the same Albus you knew. He doesn't know you from Adam and probably won't be too happy with you right now! Keep calm, no losing your temper, and keep your shields in place!' Repeating those thoughts over and over Neville walked up the staircase to the Headmaster's office and knocked on the door.

Hearing the Headmaster's voice calling for them to enter, the two of them walked in. “You wanted to see me Professor?”

“Yes I did, Mister Longbottom, please, have a seat. Would you care for a lemon drop?”

He looked mildly disappointed that Neville declined the candy. “To start with, your point removal has been reviewed, and, while you could have been more polite in how you spoke to Professor Snape, the fact remains that the point removal and detention were excessive, and have been erased.” Neville nodded his thanks, but the Headmaster wasn't finished.

Leaning forward over his desk, he continued, “That being said Mister Longbottom; I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist that you refrain from requesting any more reviews. It will cause unnecessary difficulties for the staff, and, if I may speak frankly, there are those who will try and follow your example and submit frivolous reviews, in the hope of avoid valid punishment. Do I need to say any more?”

Taking a deep breath; Neville looked at the Headmaster and said; “With all due respect Professor Dumbledore, I have to refuse your request. The right of any student to request a review of unjust punishment was established by the Founders themselves, and you have no right to make that request. As for the frivolous reviews, I already warned my classmates that if the review found the punishment valid, that the punishment would be doubled. So, I don't think you have to worry about any Gryffindor's trying to avoid valid punishment. As for causing unnecessary difficulties, the only reason I had to request a review was because your Potions Professor was not teaching. Not every student walks into their first potions class having been taught the basics at home. If your potions instructor had taken the time to teach ingredient preparation, instead of wasting time posturing and insulting students, I would not have needed to assist Ron, and we would have completed the assignment with no problem. I have to wonder though, you have seen my memory of the class, is that the recommended teaching method for potions now? Somehow I doubt it. Now, if I can be excused, I have an essay I need to complete for Transfiguration.”

It was while the Headmaster and his head of house were sitting, speechless, that Snape decided to make his presence known. Neville had been aware of the greasy bat hiding in the shadows of the room ever since he first walked into the room.

“Foolish Child! Do you really think that was a request? You will obey the Headmaster or I will see you expelled! I am a Certified Potions Master and you have no right to question how I teach you sniveling dunderheads, do you hear me!”

Neville couldn't help himself, he laughed, quite hard. Finally getting himself under control, he turned to the Headmaster; “Pardon me for asking Professor Dumbledore; but is it customary for Professors to refer to their students as 'sniveling dunderheads'? Or for a Professor to have atemper tantrum when they don't get their way?” Not waiting for an answer, he stood and faced Snape.

“Professor Snape; you are not dealing with a scared Muggleborn now. I am Head of House Longbottom; and will not tolerate your childish behavior, I am well aware of my rights and responsibilities as a student here, and, I am also aware of the responsibilities of a Professor, perhaps you are not aware of this, but my maternal grandmother taught potions here for 25 years, prior to leaving to assist in the war against Grindenwald. I know, from going over her potions journals, how potions should be taught. Now, once again, Headmaster; may I be excused?”

The stunned wizard just nodded his head, and Neville gathered his things and left. Stopping at the door, he rested his hand on the wall and turned, saying; “I wish I could say it was a pleasure, but it wasn't. I hope we understand each other now, Professor Snape. Professor McGonagall; Headmaster; have a nice day.

Shutting the door behind him, he snickered as he heard Snape having another temper tantrum. 'I wonder how long it will be before the Headmaster discovers the listening charm I put in his office. They would never expect a first year to be able to do wandless or silent spell work, so this should be interesting.'

Still chuckling, he went to the library to meet his friends.

End Chapter 5

Next: Halloween


	6. Chapter 6

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 6/?

Rating: Teen/PG-13

Summary: After the final battle, the Boy Who Lived is transported back into his 11 year old body, just prior to receiving his Hogwarts Letter. Sound like every re-do fic you've ever read? It is, except for one minor detail; the Boy Who Lived is named Neville Longbottom!

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I don't own any of the Harry Potter Characters or settings.

Pairings: None to start, come on; they're 11 years old!

Authors Note: This is another plot bunny that has been biting on my toes, and hopefully I can get it out of the way and get moving on my other stories.

Credit Where Credit is Due Department: A section of this chapter is going to look familiar, or, rather, the idea of requesting a review of punishment will look familiar, because I saw something similar done in another story, unfortunately I don't recall where. I've done something different with it, so just accept that I was inspired by the other writer. It was pointed out by one of my reviewers, that the author in question is Seelvor, and I thank he or she very graciously for the idea. "Harry Potter and the Quantum Leap", HTTP"://www.fanfiction.net/s/3951749/1/":http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3951749/1/

Yet Another Author's Note: I'm aware that quite a few of you are expecting this to be another Manipulative Dumbledore story, but, honestly, the story isn't going that way. There are too many of those types of stories out there, and, frankly, I don't think I have anything different enough to say about the character to make it worthwhile forcing him to act that way in this story. My take on Albus, at least in this story, is a very old, very powerful old man, who sometimes loses sight of the fact that the decisions he makes affect individuals. He is aware of this fault, and trying to correct it. By the way; I have come to heartily despise the expression “For the Greater Good” and, if any of you happen to find it in this story, you are invited to throw rocks at me, verbal or otherwise! GRIN

Feedback: Of course, it helps me write faster.

Time Passes – The Second Week of October

Neville got a great deal of enjoyment out of his listening charm over the next several days; Snape was constantly complaining to the Headmaster; not only about not being able to take points from students; but also because of the massive point deficit that Slytherin House had accumulated. It seems that one of the Slytherins had found out about the portrait review system, and Neville wasn't certain how, but he suspected the Weasley Twins, because the Slytherins didn't find out until it was too late, about the penalty for frivolous review requests. By the time they learned their lesson, around the middle of October, Slytherin House was down to almost single digits in points, and Snape was having a screaming hissy fit about it.

It didn't help that the Headmaster told him there was nothing that could be done; that Neville was correct, and the process had been in place since the founding of the school, including the penalties. The magic of Hogwarts itself enforced the point removal. Snape grumbled about it, but said something that made Neville frown.

“There is something strange going on with the Longbottom boy, Headmaster! I don't care how well prepared a student is when they arrive, they will still have things they don't know! Longbottom concerns me; and the influence he has on Potter should concern you as well. I don't know why you seem so interested in Potter, other than his celebrity; but, if you are not careful, any influence you may hope to have over him will be gone. Iwouldn't be surprised one morning to see a notice of formal alliance between their houses the way things are going.”

“And why would you consider that a bad thing, Severus? The Longbottom Family is firmly and historically on the side of the Light, as are the Potters, so I don't see this as a problem.”

Neville could hear the disbelief in Snape's voice; “You don't see a problem? Headmaster; I know you have plans for your weapon, but Longbottom is exerting too much influence on the child, and if you aren't careful, prophecy or no, the boy won't do what is required of him.”

“Severus! First of all, Harry is not a weapon, he is a child, who deserves as much happiness and friendship as he can get out of his life. And secondly, I have warned you about mentioning that you are even aware of the prophecy. Your former master is still alive, as I'm sure you are aware, because his mark hasn't completely faded, and I'm certain he would be very happy to discuss any additional information about the prophecy you may have. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten it was you who told him about the Potters and the Longbottom's, which cost him so much. Now, getting back to your original concern, about Harry not fulfilling his destiny; he won't have a choice, even if he wanted to avoid the conflict, Tom will keep coming after him until one or the other is dead. And, while we are speaking about Harry, I want you to drop your childish grudge against him. He had absolutely nothing to do with what happened between you and his father, and, if I wanted to be petty about it, I could remind you that he probably has very little memory of his father at all. But I'm not that petty, so I wont. Now, if there is nothing else, Severus, I have a lot of work to do.”

Snape muttered something else that Neville didn't catch, and the door closed behind him.

'Okay, Snape is no longer an annoyance,' Neville muttered, 'he's just been upgraded to a Dead Man Walking. Now, how to arrange it? It has to look like an accident, hmmm, Quirrel still has to bring the troll into the castle. That's a thought...'

Any further musing on his part was interrupted by the sound of the Headmaster speaking again.

“I have to tell you, Fawkes, Severus' behavior is really starting to concern me. I know he swore he had renounced Tom and his beliefs, but the way he is harping on Harry and Neville, it bothers me. I'll admit, I was worried about leaving Harry the way I did; but he seems to be fitting in quite well, I just hope he doesn't hate me when I tell him about his destiny. I hadn't wanted to burden him with it so early, but, with the support of his friends, he may be strong enough to handle what he has to do, and the extra time for training will only help him. Of course, he will probably want his friends to join him, and, I think it would be helpful for him to have help.” Neville heard the old man chuckle briefly, before he continued. “It's funny, but, originally, I wasn't planning on telling Harry until he was older, but, judging by the way Neville handled himself in my office, and the way Harry has carried himself, the boys are a lot more mature than I would have expected. I'll have to make some plans for training them, and I'll sit down with Harry before the end of the school year.”

Neville sat thinking about what he had heard, and trying to decide what to do about it when the door to the common room opened and his friends came in.

“Hey Nev, what are you up to? I thought you were going to meet us in the library to work on Snape's essay.” Harry said, dropping down onto the couch next to him, with Hermione sitting right next to Harry. 'I wonder if Harry realizes that Hermione has claimed him yet? Probably not, if he is as dense as I was the first time. Oh well, he'll figure it out sooner or later, I'm sure.'

“Hey guys, sorry about that, Iwas just thinking and lost track of time.”

“Thinking about what?” Harry teased, “It seems like every time you start thinking, something entertaining happens.” Hermione giggled in agreement, and Neville had to grin as well.

“Unfortunately, it's not likely to be that entertaining, but, I have something I need to talk to the two of you about, but not here.” Getting up, he said, “Go put your books away and come on back down, we need to take a walk.”

Looking at him curiously, his two friends quickly went up to the dorms and came back down. While he was waiting for the two of them, he made a decision, and decided to act on it. Leading the two of them up to the seventh floor, he found the tapestry he was looking for, and, after concentrating on what he needed, a door appeared in the wall. Leading them inside, Neville shut the door behind him and cast a series of privacy charms around the room. Turning to his friends, he said, “Okay guys; there are some things I need to tell you, but, first, how are you coming with your mental shields?”

Harry turned to Hermione, and, at her nod, said “Why don't you see for yourself?”

“Legimens!” Neville intoned, only to be easily repulsed by first Harry and then Hermione's mental shielding.

“Very good! You two have really been practicing. It took me months to get my shields that strong.” Neville praised them, as he led them over to a couch and had them sit down. “Now, before we get started, I'm going to answer the number one question on your mind, Hermione. This room is called the Come and Go Room by the house-elves and I found out about it from aformer student. It provides whatever you need, as long as you concentrate hard enough when you are summoning the doorway. The only thing is, you can't take anything the room creates outside of the room itself.”

“Now, the reason I asked you to follow me here, and, also, checked your shielding; is because I found out some information from my listening charm. It's pretty scary stuff, and I need you both to swear you will never reveal what I'm about to tell you, unless I personally tell you it's okay. I'm not kidding about this, it could literally mean somebody's death!”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and Harry said, “Go ahead, Hermione, I know you want to ask him.” Hermione smiled gratefully at Harry, before turning to look at Neville. “I'll give you my oath Neville, but, there is one thing I want to ask you first. Is what you are going to tell us going to explain how you know so much about what is going on in the school? I mean, you obviously know your way around the school, even with the way the hallways and staircases change every so often, you have never gotten us lost. And that isn't even mentioning that you are far too mature for an eleven year old boy, and know spells that most students can't cast until they are sixth or seventh years, for example, those privacy charms you cast, they are NEWT level spells, and you cast them like they were a Lumos!”

Neville sat there, literally shocked speechless, “Damn! Now I really need your oaths, and I promise you that what I am going to tell you will answer your questions. Now, can I have your oaths?”

Harry and Hermione quickly swear their oaths, and sit back on the couch watching him.

Neville sat for minute, trying to decide how to begin. “Okay, I'm going to tell you a story, about a young man who survived a horrid attack on his parents and himself when he was a little over a year old. The boy's name was Neville Longbottom; and; because he survived that attack, he became known as the Boy Who Lived.” Holding up his hand at Harry's exclamation; “I promise, this will all make sense when I'm finished. Anyway, Neville grew up with his Grandmother, and was avery lonely boy, who didn't have any friends at all, until he met two other first years on the Hogwarts Express, one was a young bushy haired girl who was the first witch in her family; and a green eyed boy with messy black hair who was the child of a pureblood wizard and a muggleborn witch. The three of them, and, a little later, a red headed boy named Ron, became very close friends, and had all sorts of adventures together......”

Neville continued telling his story for what seemed like hours, leaving nothing out, because he knew that he had to be completely honest with them if he wanted them to keep trusting him.

Harry was the first to speak when Neville finished; “Bloody Hell Mate! We figured there was something you weren't telling us, but we never thought it was something like this! So that's why you sought us out, we used to be your friends, and you wanted to be our friends again? Well, that and the whole Boy Who Lived bollocks, but that's not important right now. But what is important, and I'm only speaking for myself, Hermione will have a lot more to say than I do, I'm sure, but, to me; it's important that you know I'm still your friend! That's not going to change, I'm already happier than I ever was before, I've got good friends, and I'm having fun at school for the first time I can remember. I never really mentioned it before, but, you two, and Ron, are the first friends I've ever had in my life, anybody who tried to be my friend in school before, my cousin and his gang would run them off! I'm not going to give up a friend over some secrets. That's all I've got to say, it's your turn Hermione.”

Harry sat back down and looked at his friend (girlfriend?) in anticipation. Hermione opened her mouth, started to say something, then closed her mouth again in obvious frustration. “Darn it Harry! How am I supposed to follow that?” Finally turning back to Neville, she said, “Contrary to what Harry, and probably you, expect, I'm not going to say much, other than I agree with a lot of what Harry said, I'm not willing to give up my first real friends so easily, but, I want you to swear you'll try not to keep any more secrets from us, and we can move on and start making plans.”

Numb with relief, Neville swore his oath to the two of them; and the tension in the room evaporated.

Sitting back down, and leaning against Harry, Hermione said, “Neville, you said this room can create anything we want? Can it make us some drinks, I'm thirsty”

No sooner had she finished speaking, when a pitcher of water, and a jug of pumpkin juice, as well as glasses appeared on a table in front of them.

“Well, I guess that answers that question. Now, what are we going to do about Ron? Are you going to tell him?”

“I like Ron, really I do, but Idon't think I could trust him with a secret like this, he doesn't have the drive to learn like we do, and wasn't interested in learning Occulmency; I know, because I asked him a couple of days after giving you two the books, and he turned me down. And if he can't protect the secret, I'm not willing to share it with him. So, we don't tell Ron anything. He's still our friend, but I'm afraid he can't be included in a lot of things that are going on.”

Looking around, he saw agreement on Harry and Hermione's faces, and said; “Okay, Hermione; you said something about making plans, I know I've got some ideas, but what did you have in mind?”

“Before I get into my ideas, I'd like you to clarify something for me. If I understood you correctly, to Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Muggleborn witches and wizards are the equivalent of Jews to the Nazis? Or the black civil rights workers in the United States to the Ku Klux Klan?” At Neville's nod, she continued, “I've read quite a few books that dealt with the question, what would you do, if you were sent back in time and given a chance to shoot Hitler, or Himmler or Goering, before they came to power, what would you do? It seems to me that we are in a similar situation, I know, from your story, that you have killed in the past, but what I have to ask myself, and I'm sure Harry does as well, if we are able to kill, knowing that the people we kill have already committed monstrous crimes, and will do so again. Also, if we are able to kill, how are we going to do so without being caught. I really don't think the authorities would approve of our policy of pre-emptive strikes, do you?”

The three of them sat quietly, thinking, for quite a while.

End Chapter Six


	7. Chapter 7

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 7/?

Rating: Teen/PG-13

Summary: After the final battle, the Boy Who Lived is transported back into his 11 year old body, just prior to receiving his Hogwarts Letter. Sound like every re-do fic you've ever read? It is, except for one minor detail; the Boy Who Lived is named Neville Longbottom!

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I don't own any of the Harry Potter Characters or settings.

Pairings: None to start, come on; they're 11 years old! 

I'm honestly not happy with the way this chapter came out, but, I was trying to find a way to get rid of Quirrell that hadn't been done a hundred times before, and get the major event of canon first year out of the way, so I can really start having fun with the timeline! I'm sorry, but, I really suck at writing action scenes, as you can probably tell.

The Next Day, Saturday;

Neville came down for breakfast; a little nervous about how Harry and Hermione would react to him after having a full night to sleep and think over everything he had told them. He wasn't worried that they would say anything to a professor, or the Headmaster, their oaths prevented that, but, he really wanted to make sure they stayed his friends. He needn't have worried; because Harry and Hermione were waiting for him down in the common room, and their smiles and greetings were warm and genuine.

The day passed quietly enough, with Ron eventually dragging himself out of bed and stumbling down to the Great Hall. The three of them watched in fascination as the redhead seemed to shovel more food into his mouth than was humanly possible. Mildly disgusted, Neville and the other two left him to eat, and went for a walk by the lake.

As soon as they reached the waters edge, Hermione looked around, and, making sure that nobody was in earshot, quietly said; “Neville, I think I've reached adecision. If I understand what you told us last night, in order for a Death Eater to get the Dark Mark, they have had to commit at least one murder, and probably a lot more; is that right?”

Neville nodded, curious to see where she was going with this.

“Okay; so, if an animal kills someone, just following it's instincts, that animal is destroyed, so it can't kill again, correct? Then what we are doing is really not much different than putting down a rabid animal, it's already killed once, and could very possibly kill again if given the right circumstances. I think I can put an animal down, if necessary.”

Harry turned to her and took her hand;“Are you sure, Hermione? I don't know if I can do it; and won't know until the time comes, which, honestly, scares me!”

Hermione nodded, and said; “After the conversation you had with my parents at the train station; Neville, we've talked a lot about what you said in our letters. One thing that I really didn't know about, but my mom's grandparents were in Russia in the 1930's, and they were among the hundreds of thousands murdered for the simple crime of being educated. They were doctors, and, because they were intelligent enough to think for themselves, Stalin's thugs murdered them. I had family taken away for the crime of being different, so, yes Harry, I am quite sure!” She didn't even seem to notice the tears rolling down her face, but Harry noticed and pulled her into a comforting hug.

After she calmed down; Harry looked at Neville and said; “Right! What's the plan?”

“Let's talk about that inside, it's getting cold.”

The Room of Requirement; Immediately Afterward

After putting up the privacy charms and locking the doors; Neville asked the room for some butterbeer, and, handing one to each of them, took a long drink.

Hermione looked at the bottle for amoment curiously, and said, “Neville, there's something I've been wondering about. Last night, you said that you couldn't take anything that the room created outside of the room, but we all drank the water and pumpkin juice, did that disappear too?”

Neville chuckled, “Sorry Hermione, I should have been clearer, anything the room creates that we eat or drink stays in our bodies like food from outside the room. I don't totally understand the magic of the room, but, once we eat or drink it, it's changed enough that it leaves the room. Now, if you picked up that bottle of butterbeer and tried to take it outside the room, it would disappear when you left the room.”

“Oh, okay; I was just curious.” Hermione said, taking a drink. “This is good! I've never had a drink like this before.”

“I'm not surprised, you usually can only get it in Hogsmeade, and aren't supposed to drink it until at least third year, because, even though it's very slight, there is a little bit of alcohol in each bottle. I asked the room for abottle for each of us, because we need to relax a bit before we start making plans.”

After they finished their drinks; Neville started talking about different things that needed to be done. Hermione asked him to slow down for a minute and asked the room for some paper; and soon had the list written down. Handing the list to Neville, she sat back next to Harry and rested her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her.

“Okay; the first item is Halloween, where, if Quirrell acts the same as he did in my time, he will let a troll into the school so he can get to the Philosophers Stone. At least this time we won't have to fight the troll in the bathroom! But we still need to make sure that he doesn't get to the Stone ”

Harry had been fairly quiet up to this point, but said; “Okay; I'm with you on the need to keep him from getting his hands on the Stone, but, we've also got to make sure that we don't get caught doing it, because I don't think that the Headmaster; or anybody else would believe that we just happened to be in the third floor corridor when Quirrell made his move.”

“Actually, I was thinking about that, and, if we work it right, we can get rid of Quirrell right in the Great Hall, without anybody knowing that it was anything more than a stupid accident.”

“What do you mean? What sort of accident can kill a professor in the Great Hall?”

“Listen; here is what we are going to do.....”

The Great Hall; Halloween Feast

The Gryffindor table was packed, as were the other three tables as the jack o lanterns floated around the ceiling and the food was quickly being demolished. Even though the three of them were nervous, waiting what they knew was going happen, each of them managed to eat a good deal.

Fortunately they didn't have to wait that long, because they had just finished their first servings when the door slammed open and Quirrell rushed in. Stumbling toward the head table, he gasped out his warning before fainting, landing on his back.

Neville couldn't believe it! Through dumb luck or fate, or whatever reason, Quirrell actually landed between them and the doors, this would be a lot simpler than he had planned. In the general confusion of students rushing from the hall, nobody noticed that the three of them were still sitting at the table. .Neville watched as the rest of the students and professors exited the Hall. As the last of the professors left the room, Neville hit Quirrell with his strongest stunning spell, and he Harry and Hermione got to their feet, running toward the exit with the others Just as Harry was at the stunned Professor's feet, Neville tripped him and Harry landed on top of the Professor.

Of course, the old adage, 'no plan survives contact with the enemy' was proven out once again, as Quirrell's eyes opened as soon as Harry landed on him. Pushing the boy off, Quirrell jumped to his feet and drew his wand. Waving his wand casually, the doors to the Great Hall slammed shut and locked themselves.

“I don't know what you children thought you were doing, attacking me, but it will be the last mistake you ever make!”

Casting quickly, Harry and Hermione found themselves bound in ropes and laying on the ground, while Neville was dodging the same spell, and firing back at the possessed Professor. Neville was doing some damage, but was limited in his movements because he was trying to protect his friends.

Cursing himself for being over confident; Neville threw a banishing spell at his adversary; hoping to gain enough time to free his friends.

He had freed Harry and almost had Hermione out of the bindings when Harry pushed him down as a flash of green light passed right where he had been. The three of them scrambled for cover, and managed to get behind one of the tables and were casting back at Quirrell, unfortunately, his shield spells absorbed everything they were able to throw at him, and his spells were coming closer to hitting them.

In the noise and confusion; none of them heard the doors being forced open, until suddenly there were more spells flashing, as Dumbledore and several other Professor's rushed into the hall. Dumbledore started dueling with Quirrell as Snape and McGonagall rushed to the three of them, and started leading them towards the door.

They were almost to the exit when Quirrell managed to hit Dumbledore with a banishing spell. Turning his attention back to Harry and the others, Quirrell shouted, “You may have stopped me tonight, but it's the last thing you will ever do! Avada Kedarva!”

Time seemed to slow down as Harry watched in horror as the curse streaked toward him, He was barely aware that he was being pushed down and a weight landed on top of him. Looking up, he was staring into the sightless eyes of his potions professor, a sneer on his face even in death.

Quirrell didn't have time for another spell, because Dumbledore roared in fury at seeing Snape's death and hit Quirrell with a bludgeoning curse, that blew through his shields and tore a hole through the man's chest. Quirrell dropped to the floor, and Neville saw a black mist rise from his mouth and fly out of the room.

After everything had been cleaned up; and Aurors notified to report the death, the three students were taken to the hospital wing to be examined. Harry and Hermione were still stunned at the reality of the combat, and even Neville was shaken by the way Snape had sacrificed himself to save Harry's life.

The three of them were given beds, and were told that they would have to stay in the Hospital Wing overnight. The Headmaster sat down beside Harry's bed, and spoke quietly to him before leaving.

“What did Professor Dumbledore say, Harry?” Hermione asked from her bed next to his.

“He said he wanted the three of us to come to his office after breakfast tomorrow; there are some things he wants to explain to me. I did ask him why Professor Snape did what he did, and he said something about paying off a life debt that he owed my father, and that he would tell me more in the morning.”

Further conversation was halted by Madame Pomphrey forcing each of them to take a dreamless sleep potion, and the ward was soon quiet except for the sound of soft snoring.

End Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 8/?

Halloween Night; immediately following the last chapter

Albus Dumbledore felt every one of his 150 plus years as he slowly made his way back to his office. After visiting Harry and the others in the hospital wing, he had climbed up to the Owlry and sent a message to Amelia Bones, alerting her to the incident earlier that evening. He knew that tomorrow was going to be a long day, because Amelia would certainly be coming to the castle, and probably bringing several Aurors with her. “And on top of that headache, I need to find two instructors before Monday Morning. Perhaps Nicholas will be willing to teach Potions for the rest of the term? And maybe Alastor is tired of retirement? On second thought, Alastor may be too intense for the younger years.... ah well, that's tomorrow's problem, I still need to deal with tonight.”

After the war with Grindelwald and the first war with Tom; he was, unfortunately, no stranger to violent death, and he thought he was well past being shocked by it. The events of the evening had proved him wrong.

He had thought there was something wrong about his DADA Professor, but his passive scans encountered formidable mental shields, and couldn't he couldn't break through them without alerting Quirrell, and he didn't want to do that until he knew for sure. 'Maybe if I'd told someone besides Fawkes of my suspicions this could have been avoided.' Shaking his head, Albus chuckled ruefully, “Careful there, old man; 'what ifs?' and 'if only s' lead to madness, and they already think you're barmy.”

Still lost in his thoughts, Dumbledore opened the door to his office and made his way to his desk, reaching for the ever present bowl of lemon drops on the corner of his desk. 'I really shouldn't eat so many of these things, but, ever since Igave up my pipe, I've needed something, and I don't think the rest of the staff would appreciate me chewing bubble gum.'

Sitting down, he popped one of the candies in his mouth and almost choked in surprise when he saw the envelope on his desk. It's not that he wasn't used to having mail appear on his desk, but the fact that the corners of the envelope were dark brown, as if they had been very close to a flame was asurprise, as was the fact that the envelope was addressed to him, in his own handwriting!

Taking his wand, he checked the envelope for any spells or traps, and then carefully broke the seal. Breathing a sigh of relief when nothing happened, he slid the contents out on to his desk. Unfolding the sheet of parchment he frowned in confusion when he noticed that the letter was dated December 31st, 1996; over five years in the future. The frown deepened as he started to read:

Albus:

I know that you are wondering if this is some kind of a joke, let me assure you it isn't! If Fawkes has arrived when we expected him to; this letter reached you on Halloween of Neville's first year at Hogwarts. I'm writing you now because I expect to be embarking on 'the Next Great Adventure' as Iso blithely called it, before too many more months go by. It's funny, in a sad way, that even though I've lived a full life, I find myself fearing what happens next.

There are very dark times coming, and if my memory of Halloween Night, 1991 is correct, Tom let a troll into the castle and very nearly killed a young muggleborn witch by the name of Hermione Granger. Tom is possessing our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirinus Quirrell. Yes, it took him much longer than he anticipated, but Tom Riddle finally became the Dark Arts Professor! As I suspected at the time, Tom did not die that night when he attacked the Longbottom Family; the Killing Curse merely disembodied Tom and forced him into a wraith like form. He possessed Quirinus while he was in Albania gaining experience for his new position. Although, thinking back, I wonder if he took the position already planning to go find Tom. Well, I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

The reason Tom did not truly die that night is that he had created several horcruxes, seven in fact. However, if you have received this letter when I hope, he has not yet created the seventh one. I have been able to identify all seven, as well as the locations of most of them. They are difficult to get to, and, as I've discovered, to my remorse, very difficult to destroy. In fact, the only way I've found to destroy them, without risking possession, is by using Basilisk Venom. Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, Neville's curse scar acts as a horcrux, holding a piece of Tom's soul, and so, he has the ability to speak parseltongue. There is a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets......

The letter went on for several paragraphs, and by the time Albus reached the final paragraph, his mind was working furiously, making plans to go after the Horcruxes and avoiding the death his older self was facing. He never even considered doubting the letter was authentic, although his other selfs constant reference to Neville Longbottom as the one to defeat Tom did confuse him at first, until he remembered the Department of Mysteries report on the idea of Parallel Universes. The Unspeakables had not been able to prove their existence, but, neither had they been able to conclusively disprove their existence either.

The part of the letter that shocked him, while at the same time, answered a great many questions; was the revelation that his older self had arranged with Fawkes to transport Neville Longbottom back in some form. That did explain the confrontation between Neville and Severus earlier in the year, as well as his extremely powerful Occulmency shields.

Thinking back to that conversation in his office, he was bothered by the sensation that he had missed something. Getting his Pensieve, he pulled the memory out and placed it in the bowl. Entering the memory, he focused his attention on the body language Neville had displayed, and cursed himself for not seeing just how much like an adult he carried himself. He started to withdraw from the memory when Neville was leaving the room, but when the boy, no, man, put his hand on the door frame, it was obviously a very deliberate move, and Albus's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the brief glow of magic being performed.

Leaving the memory, Albus went over to the door frame, and a smile creased his face as he recognized the magic. Chuckling quietly, he shut out the lights in his office and left for his quarters. Once he was out of the range of the listening charm, he laughed, “Oh, nicely done, Mister Longbottom, very nicely done. Tomorrow's conversation is going to be very, very interesting.” Then the humor left his face, and he mused; “Now, how do I let Neville know what I know, without alerting Harry and Hermione? This is his secret to tell, and, if we are going to work together as we have to; we have to be able to trust each other.” Mulling the question over, it was quite a while before Albus was able to fall asleep.

The Next Morning, The Great Hall

Albus looked over the Hall, and was pleased to see that there was no sign of the battle that had raged the night before. The scorch marks from the spell damage had been cleaned off the walls, and the hole in the door had been repaired as well. He looked up at the House Banners; and another wave of sadness washed over him as he saw the strip of black cloth crossing the Slytherin Banner. “Farewell Severus, I hope you find the peace you desire in the next life.” He said quietly, as he watched the students coming into the Hall.

He knew from speaking to Poppy that she would be releasing her charges in time for breakfast, and was watching for the three of them to make their way to their seats. As soon as Neville had sat down; he saw one of the Castle elves put a note in front of him. Albus watched Neville quickly read the note, and then turned to look up at the Head Table. He looked directed at Albus and gave a quick nod, before turning back to his friends.

The Gryffindor Table

Neville blinked in surprise at the envelope sitting in his place at the table. 'That wasn't here a second ago!' Recognizing the Headmasters' handwriting; he opened it and blinked at the brief message;

Mister Longbottom;

I received a very interesting letter via Fawkes last night. Would you be willing to meet privately with me before your friends join us? We apparently have a great deal to discuss if we are to prevent Tom from making another appearance.

A.P.W.B.D

Looking up, Neville nodded briefly at the Headmaster, before turning back to Harry and Hermione. “I need to talk to the two of you after breakfast, Ijust found out something interesting.” he said, briefly,“There's too many ears around right now, but it has to do with the story I told you the other night.”

He smirked at the look of comprehension in Hermione's eyes; followed an instant later by the same look in Harry's eyes.

The two of them nodded, and started eating, only to pause when the Headmaster stood up and cleared his throat.

“As I'm certain most of you are aware; last night a terrible tragedy struck us here at Hogwarts; and we lost two of our Professors. Both Professor Snape, and Professor Quirrell died last night. I know that the rumors are flying around the school; so I will tell you this; Professor Snape died when he threw himself in front of aKilling Curse that was aimed at three of your classmates. Unfortunately; the person who cast the Unforgivable Curse was Professor Quirrell; who was attempting to steal a priceless item that had been brought to the school for safe keeping. He was not successful in his quest. I am arranging for Instructors in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but, until they arrive, those classes are canceled. Now, I believe I've kept you from your breakfasts long enough, so, Tuck In!”

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence as everybody thought about what Dumbledore had said, and a few curious looks were shot over towards Harry, Hermione and Neville, but, for a change, even the irrepressible Weasley Twins kept quiet.

An Unused Classroom; after Breakfast

As soon as Neville led his two friends into the room and cast the privacy charms; he pulled the note from his pocket and handed it to them.

After they read it; Neville said; “I'm making an assumption here, but it seems that the Dumbledore from my time sent a message back to himself, as well as sending one to me. I'm guessing that he wants to speak to me first, because he doesn't know that I've already told you everything. I will say, if this Dumbledore is as much like the one I knew, it makes going after the Horcruxes a lot easier. Let's face it; there are places that he can get to, a whole lot easier than three first years could. Of course, his knowledge is going to make certain parts of our job a lot harder. It's going to be very difficult to arrange the sort of accidents for Malfoy, LeStrange and the others that we planned on, without having him get suspicious.”

Harry had been quietly thinking; and said; “Not necessarily; if we can prove that Crouch is holding his son prisoner; Dumbledore can press to have Crouch Jr questioned under Veritaserum; and make him name those he knew to be loyal Death Eaters. This would make it easy for Madame Bones, if she is as honest in our world as she was in your time; to question those he names under Veritaserum as well. This could make things a lot easier for us, if the DE's are in prison, they aren't going to be around to help Voldemort return to a body. Speaking of which; who was it that did the ceremony to reembody Voldemort in your world? I don't think you mentioned any names, and I think we need to keep a close watch on who ever it was, so we can prevent it this time.”

“Oh, Didn't Itell you? It was Peter Pettigrew who was helping Voldemort; but Idon't think we need to

worry about him this time, he was killed the day after your parents.....” Neville paused; “Although, thinking back, they only found afinger. Hmm, something else to talk to Dumbledore about.”

“Who killed Pettigrew, Neville? Because we may want to keep an eye whoever it is.” Hermione said, “And, it may just be me being paranoid, but, I'm reminded of something I heard my dad say to my mother when it looked like one of her favorite characters on Coronation Street had been killed. He told her not to believe anybody is dead if you don't see the body. And, I know it was a fictional story; but, if the Pettigrew in your world was a Death Eater, why wouldn't he be one here? I'm sure there are ways an adult Wizard or Witch can fake their death.”

“Good point, Hermione; according to what I've been able to find out, Sirius Black was the one who killed Pettigrew, and, really, that doesn't make sense, I knew Sirius, and he was your parents closest friend, well, he and Remus Lupin; and they were very much opposed to Voldemort and the Des. I think we should ask Professor Dumbledore about it when we meet with him. Speaking of meeting with him; I need to get to his office. Why don't you come along, you can wait out side while Itell him that you already know the truth, so we can all meet together.”

The Headmaster's Office

Albus was sitting at his desk, re-reading the letter from his other self, when the ward alerted him to three people at his door. He called out “Come in!” And the door opened, and Neville Longbottom walked in, leaving his friends standing outside. Neville shut the door and said; “My friends already know everything, Headmaster; so, if you wanted to speak to me privately to protect my secrets, you don't have to worry. If you have other items to discuss, that's fine, I'll just let them know that we'll send for them when we are finished.”

“If you have no secrets from your friends Mister Longbottom; then I have no problem with them being here for the meeting either. Please, show them in.”

End Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 9/?

The Headmaster's Office, several hours later

A visibly exhausted Albus Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, away from the pensieve sitting on his desk. Reaching out, he grabbed the cup sitting by his desk and took a deep drink.. “Is that all the key events you can recall Neville?” At the equally tired young mans nod, Albus sighed.

“Very good. I think we can all agree that permitting Voldemort to rise again would not be a good thing for anyone, true?”

The three students nodded, Hermione looking a bit shocked at all the carnage she had seen. “Miss Granger? Hermione? Would you like to take a few minutes break?”

Hermione shook her head, “No, no, it's okay. I mean, hearing about the carnage and everything is one thing, but, to actually see it, to see myself dying, to see Harry laying there dead. I'm sorry, it's just... I'll be okay, I'll be okay...” she finished, more to convince herself it seems, than the others.

Harry leaned over and put his arm around Hermione, pulling her into a hug. He was also looking rather pale, but extremely determined.

Neville turned to look at his friends and spoke, “I'm really sorry, I wish you didn't have to see that, It's bad enough that I have the memories, and, that reminds me Headmaster, I'm going to need to see Madame Pomfrey for a Dreamless Sleep potion when we are done here, but,” he continued, speaking to Harry and Hermione, “it's important that you understand exactly what is at stake here if we fail.”

Taking a deep breath, Neville turned back to Dumbledore; “Okay, so we need to make plans so that we can prevent what I experienced from happening again. I'm thinking that we should start with some of the Death Eaters that escaped Azkaban last time. That way we can remove enough of Fudge's support, and possibly, just possibly, keep some of the younger students; like Malfoy, Nott and the others from following in their father's footsteps. I really don't want to have to kill them again, Professor, but I'll probably have to if we can't change the path they are on.”

Dumbledore nodded, popping a candy into his mouth. “I think that I need to speak with Amelia Bones about some of this information. I'm not planning on revealing your secret, Mister Longbottom, but certain portions of the letter I received should give her enough to start an investigation. I don't know how much contact you had with her in the past, but I can assure you that she is absolutely incorruptible! There are prisoners who are in Azkaban to this day for attempting to bribe her when she was a young Auror.”

Harry nodded, “You know, Professor, one question you might ask, in fact, if you want, you can use my name, is why the man who supposedly betrayed my parents never got a trial? Tell her that I'm curious how somebody who was my fathers closest friend could betray he and my mother like that? I'm very curious who's decision it was to not give him a trial.”

Albus looked over his glasses at the young man in front of him, and a smile appeared on his face. “Indeed, I believe that may give me the perfect path to set Amelia on her trail. That way I won't need to reveal the letter at all. Much better for all concerned, I would think, especially since, if memory serves, Barty Crouch was the Director of Magical Law Enforcement at the time, and, any chink in his armor would give us excuse to expose the fact that he is holding his son prisoner and using an Unforgivable on him. But, may I ask why you say 'supposedly' betrayed your parents?”

“Well, Neville mentioned that Peter Pettigrew was the Death Eater who helped bring Voldemort back in his world, while Sirius Black was my fathers closest friend and Auror partner. Granted there are differences between his memories and what happened here, but, I think that it's too much of a change, I wanted to find out what really happened.”

“Hmmm; If I remember correctly, our dear Minister Fudge is going to be at a conference in Ontario for the next week, and out of contact for most of that time. Yes, I believe we should be able to get quite a bit accomplished on the Death Eater situation. Now, I would like to offer all of you additional training, in both offensive and defensive magics; so that, if worse comes to worse, you can still defend yourselves, and your friends. We still have several months before the summer break, and I feel confident that you can learn quite a bit in that time.”

“Speaking of Summer break, Headmaster, I think we need to discuss my guardians...” Harry interrupted.

“What about them, Mister Potter?” Dumbledore asked, honestly curious.

“It might be easier if I show you Sir, it's not something I really want to talk about, but, I won't be tolerating it any longer. Now, if you don't mind my using your Pensieve, you can understand what I am talking about. At Dumbledore's nod, Harry concentrated, and extracted several different memories and placed them in the bowl.

“These are different memories, starting when I was 3 years old, Professor, continuing up to Hagrid picking me up to give me my letter. I'll let you review them, and I hope you don't mind if I stay out here, I've already lived those times, I don't need to repeat them.”

Dumbledore noticed that Harry was actually shaking as he sat back down, and this time it was Hermione who pulled him into the hug. 'Sweet Merlin! Just what had that young man experienced?' he wondered, before immersing himself in the memories.

It was about twenty minutes later that Dumbledore pulled himself out of the Pensieve, and, without looking at the three students, went to a cabinet in back of the room and pulled out a bottle. Taking a long drink, the others flinched as he literally belched flame for an instant.

Sitting down, the others were surprised to see the Headmaster looking like he had aged 50 years or more. Dumbledore just sat there for a few moments, his eyes closed. He finally opened them and looked directly at Harry and spoke; “You will never spend another minute with those creatures Harry! I can never make up for my mistake in placing you there, but, I can't understand why I was never informed about what was going on there! I had someone watching you, I couldn't go myself, you understand, if anybody was watching, they would find you, and you weren't able to defend yourself. I received reports that you seemed to be doing well.” He paused, “It seems that I was more trusting than I should have been, once again!” He shook his head, “I can't correct what has happened, but, I can do better going forward.”

Neville spoke up; “Professor, I'm fairly certain that I can get my Grandmother to offer Harry House Room for the Winter Break, as well as during the Summer. Our house is almost as well warded as the school, and it would be a lot more convenient place for us to train. In fact, Hermione, if you like, we can see about getting your parents house set up on a Restricted Floo Access, where you would be able to come and go between your house and Longbottom House! That way the three of us can continue our training, and you can still spend lots of time with your parents. They can even come over sometimes if they want, so they can see what you've learned.”

Hermione smiled at the idea of being able to spend the holiday with her friends; but paused, “But, how can we train over the Summer? Won't we get in trouble with the Ministry, I read in Hogwarts: A History” how the Ministry monitors underage magic and we can get in trouble!”

Neville looked at Dumbledore and said; “Do you want to tell her, or shall I?”

“Go ahead, Mister Longbottom,” Dumbledore sighed.

“Okay, Hermione, this isn't well known, but, the Ministry tracks magic done by location. If they see magic being performed, and there is an adult witch or wizard in the area, it's ignored, because they assume that the adult is performing the magic. If you remember, back when we first met, I mentioned that a lot of people don't want to accept that there are more Muggleborn every year? This is one of the things I was talking about. But, there are ways around the law; all we need to do is register the fact that we are receiving instruction from a tutor over the summer, and they will basically ignore any magic coming from my house, unless we cast one of the Unforgivable's, which I really don't think is a problem.”

Hermione just sat there, very quiet, as Neville completed his explanation. Finally, she nodded, abruptly. “I see! And I'm certain that the purebloods who come up with the laws make sure that they have tutors already lined up, don't they? It's funny, it's one thing to accept that racism is institutionalized in the Wizarding World, but it's something like this that really brings it home! I can see what I'll be doing after we graduate!” Turning to Harry and Neville, she said, “I want you two to promise me, that, once Voldemort is in the ground for good, that you will help me change things! I don't want to live in a world like this, let alone try to raise a family here!”

Harry and Neville quickly promised their support, and Dumbledore said; “Once we get rid of Voldemort and his supporters, it should be a lot easier to make the changes that need to be made. It's a lot of the old line pureblood families that have the control of the Wizengamot and prevent the more progressive families from changing the laws. But, that is something we can work toward in the future. Right now, we need to get the Death Eaters that are still in power, and while I work on that end, the three of you concentrate on your studies. In fact, Mister Potter, I am hoping to bring in another friend of your parents as the Defense Instructor, at least for the remainder of the year. I'll let you know what if I am successful.”

Looking at his watch, Dumbledore said, “We have been here for several hours, and it's almost time for dinner. I have Amelia Bones coming here this evening to discuss last nights events, and I will be raising the questions you asked as well, Harry. Now, I believe it's time for you to join the rest of your House at Dinner.”

The three of them nodded, and, as if to emphasize the fact that it was dinner time, a distinct rumbling sound was heard from Hermione's direction. She blushed as her friends laughed, finally starting to laugh as well.

End Chapter Nine


	10. Chapter 10

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 10/?

Time Passes November – December

After the eventful meeting in the Headmaster's office, Harry, Neville and Hermione managed to rejoin their house in time for the evening meal. Although Ron and several other members of the house tried to talk to them about what had happened the night before, the three of them just kept quiet. Finally, Harry got fed up with Ron and Seamus' questions and said;

“Look! We saw two people DIE last night! What makes you think any of us really want to talk about it? That means we have remember it even more than we already do, I don't need more nightmares, thank you! Yeah, I know that Professor Snape was a prat to us in class, but, the man jumped in front of a curse for us last night, we would all be dead if it weren't for him! Now just leave us alone about it, alright?”

Ron blinked a few times as he listened to what Harry was saying, and he began to pale,“Oh, bloody hell! I'm sorry, mate! I didn't even think about it that way! I'll leave you alone about it.”

Harry just nodded in thanks, and turned to look at Hermione and Neville who were both smiling at him. Hermione leaned over and said, “I'm glad you said something, you were a lot nicer than I would have been.” Neville nodded and said “Me too!”

The rest of the meal went on in peace, but before they left the Great Hall, the doors burst open and a distinguished looking Grey haired woman in black robes walked in, flanked by several other men and women dressed the same way. Harry tried not to stare, but his attention was taken by one of the men in the group, he was older than most of the others, but, what caught Harry's attention was the way the man walked, he only had one leg, the other was a wooden peg! Jerking his eyes up, he also saw that one of the man's eyes was replaced by a patch, that had a blue eye on the outside of it. All in all, a very frightening sight. Harry glanced over at Neville, and heard him mutter something that sounded like “mad eye!”

Professor Dumbledore rose to greet the visitors, “Madame Bones, thank you for coming, would you like to join us for the pudding, or would you prefer to adjourn to my office?”

“While pudding sounds lovely, Albus, I believe we should take care of business first.” Madame Bones said, with a slight smile.

“Very well, if you would follow me to my office?” Dumbledore said, as he moved towards the doorway in the back of the hall.

After the group left, Hermione turned to Neville and asked, “Do you think they are going to want to talk to us?”

“Probably. Let's take our time with the pudding, so they can find us if they need to.” Neville said. The others nodded in agreement.

That turned out to be a good idea, because they were just finishing when Professor McGonagall came down and escorted them to the Headmaster's office.

The three of them were interviewed individually while their Head of House were in the room, and then they spoke to Madame Bones. The story that the three of them told was basically the truth, that Harry tripped over Professor Quirrell and he attacked them. The Aurors, even though they didn't show it, were impressed that the three of them had managed to do as well as they did against Quirrell.

After the interviews, Madame Bones talked to the three of them while the Headmaster was in the office, and she made sure they understood that they weren't in any sort of trouble because of what happened, and then started talking to them, just trying to put them at ease. At one point during the meeting, Amelia made a comment about how she had known both Harry and Neville's parents, and they had been exceptional Aurors. Seeing his chance, Harry spoke up. “Excuse me Ma'am, but can I ask you a question about my parents?”

“Certainly, Mister Potter, go right ahead?”

“Well, I was trying to find out more about what happened, that night, and, every book I've found says that they were betrayed by Sirius Black, who was my Father's partner in the Aurors. Is that true?”

“Yes, Mister Potter, Sirius Black was sent to the Wizarding Prison Azkaban for betraying your parents to You-Know-Who, as well as killing another friend of your parents, a young man named Peter Pettigrew as well as several innocent bystanders.”

Harry nodded,“That's what I've read, but, something I don't understand, I've never seen anything about Black's trial, I went looking because Iwanted to know how somebody who was my Father's best friend could betray him, and my mother like that! Do you have any records of why he did it? I'd really like to know.”

To put it mildly, Amelia was flabbergasted! She had been a mid level Auror at the time the Potter's were killed, and hadn't paid all that much attention to the case at the time, being more involved with the ultimately fruitless quest to imprison Lucius Malfoy, but, she did remember hearing some grumblings about how Crouch was pushing things through the Wizengamot at the time. Of course, it was right around that time that Crouch's son and the LeStranges were captured, and Barty faded out fairly quickly. Realizing that Harry was still waiting for an answer, she cleared her throat and said; “I'm sorry Mister Potter, but I really don't know the answer to your question, but, Ipromise you this, I will find out for you and let you know what Ilearn, will that be okay?”

“Thank you, Ma'am; but you really don't have to go to that much trouble, but, Iwas curious about what happened.” Harry said, politely.

“It would be no trouble at all, Mister Potter. I have to admit, you've made me curious as well.” Turning to Dumbledore, she said,“Headmaster, will you be in your offices at the Wizengamot this week? I believe I may need your assistance in accessing the records from that time.”

“Certainly Director, I'll be there Monday from right after breakfast on, shall we say 9:30 Monday morning?”

“That would work very well for me, Headmaster, I'll see you then.”

Turning back to the students, Amelia thanked them for their time, and repeated to Harry that she would get back to him as soon as she found anything out.

The next week started off quietly, as the three of them enjoyed a free period where they would normally have had Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as Potions, so, at Hermione's prompting, they finished up their homework for the other classes, and then, went out to the Quidditch Pitch, so that they could practice their flying.

It was Thursday before anything exciting happened, and, the first thing that was different was that there were two new Professors at the Staff Table for Breakfast. The Headmaster introduced Nicholas Flamel as the new Potions Professor, which caused the Ravenclaw table to explode in excitement, and Hermione to write his name down to find out more about him. Then Albus introduced Remus Lupin as the new Defense Instructor. The applause for Lupin was polite, because nobody really knew anything about him.

After breakfast, Harry was asked to come to Dumbledore's office, and was told he could bring his friends if he wanted to. Harry shrugged, and Hermione and Neville followed him up the stairs. “Do ever get the feeling we've done before, Nev?” Harry smirked, and the others just chuckled.

When they got into the office, Dumbledore was sitting and talking to Professor Lupin. Dumbledore looked up and smiled, “Ah, excellent! Mister Potter, if you recall, when we spoke on Saturday, I mentioned that Iwas attempting to bring in a friend of your parents as an instructor, well, I'm pleased to let you know that I was successful, Professor Lupin was very close friends with your parents.”

Lupin looked up at Harry, and a very sad smile crossed his face; “You look just like your Father, Harry!” Dumbledore stood up; and said,“I'll let you get acquainted with Harry, Remus, and I'm sure he will be pleased to introduce you to his friends, I suggested that Harry could bring them with him, simply because you never see one of them without the others. And, Harry, I received an owl from Madam Bones earlier today, she told me to keep an eye on the Daily Prophet for the next couple of days, and you should find some very interesting developments.” The twinkling of his eyes was almost blinding.

The four left in the office spent the couple of hours talking, well, actually, Harry and Remus did the talking, while Neville and Hermione sat and listened. By the end of the time, Harry felt like he knew a lot more about his parents than he did before.

It was the next morning at breakfast when everything went crazy.

The Great Hall was filled with owls the next morning, as every person in the school received a special edition of the Daily Prophet. The headline across the top half of the paper was visible from 30 yards away it was printed in such large type.

CORRUPTION AT THE MINISTRY

Fudge, Crouch, Malfoy Arrested

Fudge tries to escape, captured in Canadian Snowbank

Sirius Black Innocent!!!!!!!!!!

The rest of the article detailed how an investigation by DMLE Director Bones uncovered a vast list of crimes committed by Minister Fudge, as well as Barty Crouch and Lucius Malfoy, as well as several other Ministry employees. They also determined that Sirius Black was one of several people imprisoned without a trial, all of whom were given trials and their testimony was taken under Veritaserum. All but one of the prisoners were determined to be innocent of the crimes they were arrested for.

The article went on to say that all of the people tried after the fall of You-Know-Who, would be retried under Veritaserum; both those convicted, and those acquitted. One other item was mentioned, that Peter Pettigrew, who had been believed murdered by Sirius Black, was in fact, believed to be alive, and the true betrayer of the Potter's. Because of this, Pettigrew's Order of Merlin was revoked.

This was merely the beginning of the shakeup at the ministry. By the time the trials were completed, several convicted Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy, Walden McNair, Goyle, Crabbe, Avery, Barty Crouch Jr, who was found in his family home, Rookwood as well as the LeStrange Brothers and Bellatrix LeStrange, were all executed by being put through the Death Veil.

Strangely enough, Albus Dumbledore made it a point to examine all items taken from the homes and vaults of the executed Death Eaters, and, soon, a pocket diary, a cup, a ring, and a locket, as well as a diadem, found themselves in a secured vault in Dumbledore's office.


	11. Chapter 11

The Return of the Boy Who Lived 11/11

AUTHORS NOTES: First off, I hate to admit it, but, I've basically lost interest in this story, because I made the mistake of making everything too easy for our heroes, and, although I had a vague idea of throwing a monkey wrench into the works, I just don't have the desire to put the work into developing an OC adversary. Rather than just leave yet another one of my stories unfinished, I'll be wrapping this one up with this epilogue. Thanks for following along, and I'm glad so many of you seemed to enjoy the story. Finally, I'll admit to a major screw-up last chapter with the locations of several of the horcruxes. I realize that several of them weren't in Death Eater houses, but I just neglected to write out how they located the rest of them.

EPILOGUE: Hogwarts Leaving Feast June 1998 Various POVs

The applause had just died down as Neville moved toward the podium set up in front of the Staff Table. The Head Boy nodded his thanks toward Professor Dumbledore before turning toward the students.

Neville smiled as he looked out over the graduating class. He couldn't help but think of the differences between his old world and this one.

In his old world, only a bare handful of the students who were sorted with him survived until graduation; this time, every single student was graduating, even Malfoy and his bookends, who, surprisingly, were not as dense as they seemed. Without the influence and protection of Lucius, Malfoy turned out to be a halfway decent person. He still was full of himself, but he wasn't a bully or a thug, which was a vast improvement. In fact, the only thing Neville had against the younger Malfoy was the fact that he was dating Ginny Weasley. But even that was only a mild pain, because the Ginny who showed up his second year was not the vibrant girl he had fallen in love with, but was a shy girl who couldn't string three words together if Harry was in the same room.

He had tried to befriend her, hoping that she would grow into the girl he loved, but, eventually realized that he had changed far too much to be able to relate to the girl, and, with a small twinge of regret, he let her go to find her own path in life. He would probably always love 'his Ginny', but finally accepted that his Ginny had died on the Hogwarts lawn during the final battle.

He would have expected Ron to have afit about his sister dating a Slytherin, except for the fact that Ron was sitting with Pansy Parkinson, although, judging by the size of the ring Neville saw on her finger, she would be a Weasley before the end of Summer.

He would probably still be hurting about losing Ginny if he hadn't met a cousin of Sirius's over the Christmas Holidays, a very attractive, but exceptionally clumsy Auror who insisted he call her Tonks. They hit it off quite well and, even though she was a few years older then him physically, they were close enough mentally to be able to enjoy each others company. Neville was looking forward to meeting with her after the feast for a private celebration. He had surprised her by actually taking her up on her offer to use her ability to look like someone else. He didn't do it very often, but the two of them enjoyed it as a change of pace.

That was another positive change from his old world; with Voldemort permanently dead, and the rest of his followers put through the Veil, the tension in the school had dropped to almost nothing. It had gotten to the point that most students didn't even eat at their House tables, preferring to eat with their friends in other houses. There was still a fierce rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor; but it was mostly confined to the Quidditch Pitch, the cup alternated between Minerva and Aurora Sinestra's Offices.

Looking away from Malfoy, he saw Susan Bones, with her Aunt Amelia, the former Minister of Magic. Amelia had done an amazing job in tracking down the remnants of Voldemort's followers, but stepped down from the Minister's Office after a little less than a year, preferring to go back to the DMLE. The new Minister was actually Florean Fortiscue, and he was generally considered to be doing an excellent job. The fact that he came from outside the Ministry seemed to be working in his favor, at least according to what Dumbledore had told them. It seemed that he had the Wizengamot in an uproar most of the time as he forced through multiple reforms, but, with strong support from Albus and Amelia most of them passed, and quite a few laws had been struck from the books, especially those about werewolves and other species that were looked down on by the Old Guard. Fortunately, the Old Guard was just that, old, and they were gradually being replaced by younger members, who were more open to the Minister's ideas.

Shaking his head slightly, he cleared his throat and began to speak

Albus Dumbledore relaxed in his chair as he listened to Neville give the traditional Head Boy speech. He had expected Harry and Hermione, as this years Head Students to be the ones to give the speech, but, they had asked Neville do to the honors. In a way, it made sense, because, although the three of them were the undisputed leaders of the school, Neville was far more outgoing and comfortable speaking in front of large groups.

Thinking of the other members of the Golden Trio, Albus looked toward the back of the room where Harry and Hermione were sitting, with Padma Patil sitting between them. He knew he was old fashioned, but it still slightly bothered him to see the three of them in a relationship, but, they seemed happy together, so he wasn't too worried about it. He knew that Harry, with the Wealth he had inherited from his parents, as well as what he stood to inherit from Sirius, would have no problem supporting two wives, although he got the impression that Padma would be Hermione's wife more than Harry's.

Speaking of Sirius, he glanced down the table at his Defense Instructor, who was leaned over saying something to Remus, who was in his third year of teaching Magical Creatures, Hagrid having gone back to France with Madame Maxime after the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Although he was sorry to lose Hagrid, Albus was happier with another result of the tournament; Cedric Diggory was crowned the Champion, and took a job as the Assistant Professor for Transfiguration, allowing Minerva more time as Assistant Headmistress, soon to be Headmistress; as he had already announced his retirement as of the end of this school year. It was time for him to reconnect with what was left of his family and prepare himself for the Next Great Adventure.

Albus knew he had a lot of mistakes to answer for, but, he felt that he had made up for them over the past six years. It was only a few days after the meeting that set all the changes in motion that they destroyed the Horcrux that was in Harry's scar. It was painful for Harry, but it hurt Albus almost as much to see him suffer. Fortunately, the scar was the last Horcrux to be destroyed, and, after the Unspeakables tracked down the Voldemort Wraith in Albania, Albus Harry Neville and Hermione went to the Ministry, and, while Neville and Hermione waited outside, he and Harry went into the Execution Chamber and Harry banished the wraith through the Veil, fulfilling the prophecy. It was only when Voldemort was completely gone that Albus made sure that Harry never had to see the Dursley's again. He had hesitated, because, even though he knew how unhappy Harry was there, and with reason, he still hoped there was a way to transfer the blood protections to another location. He knew that the minute he informed Petunia that Harry would not be returning, the protections would fail, and he wanted to do as much as he could before confronting her. Fortunately, with all the Death Eaters and supporters gone, the protection was no longer needed, and he went to Privet Drive.

Although he was sorely tempted to hex the three of them into oblivion, he controlled himself during the brief unpleasant time he spent in their home. When he heard a few years later that the three of them had died in a house fire, along with Vernon's sister, he really couldn't find it inside himself to feel sorry for them.

Harry had moved in with Sirius at the end of his second year, after spending the previous Summer with Neville at his home. Harry still spent a great deal of time at Longbottom Manor, where Augusta had adopted Harry and Hermione as pseudo-grandchildren, and taught the three of them the traditions of the Wizarding World, as well as keeping them up to date on what had been changing, so they would be able to move easily in the world after graduation. Although, from what Neville had said, none of them had the heart to tell his Grandmother that the three of them were even more aware of the changes, considering how many of them that had instigated, she seemed to honestly enjoy teaching them, and they didn't mind getting another persons perspective on the changes.

Of course, they all got a different sort of education from Sirius and Remus, and Albus still winced at the memory of some of the pranks that three of them, as well as the Weasley Twins, pulled on the school. Poppy told him she still has nightmares of the singing and dancing bedpans!

Hearing the applause, Albus realized that Neville was finishing his speech, and pulled himself back to the present. Joining in the applause, Albus climbed to his feet to give his own remarks. As Neville made it back to his seat; where he was joined by his friends, Albus said, “Thank You Mister Longbottom. Now, before we tuck in to the delicious meal that has been prepared for us, I'd just like to say a few words, Nitwit!Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” and took his seat as a wave of laughter broke in the Hall.

Harry woke early the next morning, and smiled as he looked down at the bushy hair spread across his chest. Obviously Hermione had decided during the night that his chest made an excellent pillow. He wasn't exactly surprised, it seemed to happen on a regular basis. Turning his head, he could make out Padma spooned up behind Hermione, resting her head on Hermione's shoulder. He chuckled quietly, no matter what position they were in when they went to sleep, the seemed to migrate to this position somewhere in the night.

Harry still had to pinch himself sometimes, to convince himself he wasn't dreaming. That didn't happen very much anymore, but in the beginning it happened a lot. It wasn't until Fourth Year, when Dumbledore took him aside and told him that the Dursley's had died, that the last of the fear he would have to go back there faded away. Looking back, Harry realized that the day he lost that fear was the second or third best day of his life, even better than the day that he learned he was a Wizard. Of course, he didn't even have to think about the best day, that was the day that Hermione told him she loved him, and he told her the same. That day was closely followed by his 16th Birthday, when the two of them made love for the first time. Of course, as wonderful as that day was, it also caused Hermione a great deal of emotional pain.

Harry may have been more mature than the average 16 year old, but that didn't mean he was any more observant, or had any more insight into the female of the species than any man, any where. He could tell that Hermione and Padma were very good friends, and he was happy for her. He knew that, although he wasn't stupid by any means, he wasn't on Hermione's level of intelligence, and he figured that Padma filled her need for conversation. It wasn't until the week after his birthday that she finally told him what had been bothering her.

Simply put, she realized that she was in love with Padma, and Padma had told Hermione that she loved her as well. Harry was worried at first, that it meant that Hermione didn't love him, but, after talking it out, he referred her to one of her own favorite books “Time Enough For Love” and she realized that she had love enough for two people in her life. Of course, the awkward part was when Hermione suggested that he and Padma date, to see if they were compatible as well, because Hermione wanted both of them in her life, and, with her mission to change the world, the Wizarding World's feelings about women loving each other was the least of her concerns. Fortunately for all of them, Harry and Padma found that they did like each other, and that developed into a relationship almost as strong as the one that Hermione shared with each of them. Of course, the memory of first time the three of them were all together would enable Harry to fuel a corporal Patronus even one hundred years later!

Realizing that it was still early in the morning, Harry closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. Life was good.

The End – So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!


End file.
